I guess I was just led astray by Shelley's old statement that the mass-produced bathtub did not appear til the 1920s. Guess she meant that not everyone had one. Well, that's a relief. Wouldn't want Helen Candee and her peers suffering through sponge-bathing.

You might also recall the spectacular views of Capt. Smith's tub seen up close in recent wreck dives. President Taft was so portly a special tub had to be made for him and installed in the White House. Cast iron tubs, for those lucky to have one in the house, were enameled with porcelain around 1883, a great improvement. Kohler and American Standard have actually been around that long and continue to be the biggest American suppliers. I am not too familiar with proper English baths, but I think tub surrounds were the thing in the UK- sometimes beautifully constructed with mahogany paneling. The clawfoots came long before the built-in bathtubs and grouted tile, really appearing in numbers in new construction right after WWI. Statistics confirm that in 1921 only 1% of American homes had indoor plumbing. Like the first Tin Lizzie cars- the tubs came in one color- white. The Crane Company brought out colored tubs and lavatories in 1928. I have to laugh at the prices the new repro Kohler clawfoot tub is going for- with goldplated taps- over $3,000! Toweling, and usually tiled floors were white too, being the color associated with sanitary hygiene right up until post WWII.

Shelley, thank you for the bathroom education. I have an antique porcelain cast-iron bathtub(not claw-foot but freestanding and resting on a stand) in my bathroom that came with my house, and let me tell you, they really retain heat. I don't think the real things cost $3,000, but they can be the devil to move into a bathroom--they're kinda heavy. i also pulled the capt. smith bathtub photos--amazing to see again.

A couple of pics from advertisements for the Standard Sanitary Mfg Co of Pittsburgh, both dated 1909. Their range of porcelain-enamelled baths and lavatories were 'a revelation in modern bathroom equipment, not only in the added convenience and perfect sanitation they afford, but also in the extraordinarily long life their installation assures'. For the First Class passengers, mark you. The rest don't wash, of course. :-)

And here we have the Siwelco noiseless syphon jet water closet, offered by the Trenton Potteries Co of New Jersey in a 1913 ad: 'This appeals particularly to those whose sense of refinement is shocked by the noisy flushing of the old style closet. The Siwelco was designed to prevent such embarassment.'

For the First Class passengers, mark you. The rest don't care, of course. :-)

I'm having a bit of trouble working out exactly what's going on in these pictures, Bob. Is that a shower or an Iron Maiden? And which is the toilet and which is the bidet? Or is it two bidets, his and hers, for those with a particular sense of refinement? And what's happened to that poor girl. Has she fallen between two luxurious porcelain appointments and got stuck?

Trust you to make things complicated, Mon. The device on the left was very necessary in the best houses, for dealing with visiting tradesmen who needed to be forceably cleansed. I see you're having the same problem as Crocodile Dundee with the other stuff. But he managed to figure it out, and so, in time, will you. The toilet would have been in a separate room or enclosure. The ladies on the far right are arguing about who gets the bathwater first, and the one on the left has won by a knockout.
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>>I have to laugh at the prices the new repro Kohler clawfoot tub is going for- with goldplated taps- over $3,000! <<

Then see me at Lowe's for a special order. I can get you a better deal.

Seriously, Kohler may not be one of the cheapest, but they're renowned for the sheer quality of what they put into just about anything and everything they make from faucets to diesel engines. (And no, I'm not kidding about the engine. The emergency generator where I work has a Kohler engine.)

Monica, the hardware in the shower unit forms a semi-circular cage of piping designed to deliver sprays from a variety of heights and angles. Motts Ironworks offered the ultimate patent combination unit: with needle shower, descending douche, liver spray and bidet bath. It was not recommended for use by ladies - 'too bracing'. You have been warned.